Is a Yugo SKS illegal if......

The grenade launcher tube thingy was taken off the end of the barrel and a flash suppressor/muzzle compensator put in it's place? (You gotta put something there or it's just ugly threaded metal)

The bayonet and grenade sight is not really removable....at least not easily.

I suppose if a 30 round detachable magazine was added then it would be super evil (this is good because you can also ad 5 round fixed mags to comply with hunting regs) :rolleyes:

Not that I did (or would do) anything like that :D

The gun was of course manufactered before 94', but I've heard that according to the ATF, if it's an SKS, and you do that, you're an evil criminal mastermind crazy gun nut that should be locked up anyways.

The Yugo model modified for the Kali market comes with a muzzle brake attachment---$25 more from IO.

Add a detachable mag and all bets are off-----as you already have 2 evil features--even with the GL removed.

Evil feaures:
1. Threaded muzzle
2. Detachable mag

Better just to leave the fixed mag and use stripper clips--------then you can "Bubba-ize" the thing to you hearts content.

Hkmp5sd

May 10, 2003, 11:51 AM

Is it just me or does the AWB not get any respect nowadays?

Maybe not much respect, but it will still get you a long vacation at ClubFed. A $100 SKS just isn't worth it.

WonderNine

May 10, 2003, 03:14 PM

But it sorta needs a detachable mag so that 5 round hunting clips can be used.

Isn't this rifle considered preban?????????

Hkmp5sd

May 10, 2003, 03:52 PM

WonderNine,

You are really opening a can of worms here. :)

Ok, in my non-educated legal opinion, you may NOT convert a Yugo SKS to accept the detachable 30-round AK magazines.

My reason for this opinion is that in 1989, when GHWB's ATF re-defined sporting vs. non-sporting firearms, one of the firearms they banned from importation was the newly manufactured Chinese SKS-D, which was a version of the SKS modified to accept AK magazines.

Regardless of the date of importation, if you take a Yugo SKS and modify it into this configuration, you have created a firearm that is not legal for importation and hence, illegal.

You CAN replace sufficient foreign parts on the SKS with "Made in America" parts so that it doesn't meet ATF's criteria as an imported firearm and then it would be legal to adapt it for detachable magazines.

If you really want to do this, write to ATF's Technical Branch and get a response IN WRITING that they either approve or disapprove of the modification.

WonderNine

May 10, 2003, 04:52 PM

Then why do they sell 30 round SKS mags everywhere??? :confused:

Gewehr98

May 10, 2003, 04:55 PM

Is it just me or does the AWB not get any respect nowadays?

Lotsa respect, from folks with badges. See here (assuming you have a spare $500,000 laying around):

http://classic.sacbee.com/news/news/old/local02_20000513.html

Hkmp5sd

May 10, 2003, 04:57 PM

For the same reason they still sell SKS folding stocks, Mini-14 folding stocks and AR-15 collapsible buttstocks. On guns that were in that configuration prior to the ruling in 1989 (for the SKS) or the '94 AW ban (for the Mini-14 and AR), they are legal to use.

I may very well be wrong, but get the information from ATF if you plan to do this instead of us part-time legal consultants.

WonderNine

May 10, 2003, 04:59 PM

This is one messssssed up law.....

Gewehr98

May 10, 2003, 05:02 PM

Then why do they sell 30 round SKS mags everywhere???

How about folding stocks, or plans and templates in Shotgun News to build full-auto Stens, Sterlings, AR-15 auto-sears, etc. The burden of proof would be on you as the buyer to show legality, because the seller sure doesn't care. You see a LOT of folding stocks and detachable 30-round magazines on Norinco SKS rifles that were purchased in the early 90's. Doesn't make them legal. They just haven't been caught yet. There's only so many ATF agents, with probably much higher priorities than illegal (or more properly, "non-sporting", love that term) SKS rifles to pursue.

cool45auto

May 10, 2003, 05:25 PM

Wow, when I bought my SKS it had a 30 round detachable mag on it! I looked around and found a fixed 10 round one but have yet to put it on the gun. I shoot with LEO buddies regularly and the subject hasn't come up. :confused:

Gewehr98

May 10, 2003, 05:39 PM

But as a range officer, I've seen cops show up with guns that were illegally configured. They either didn't know, or didn't care. Sometimes I think the only people who really know all the gun laws are those who write them. And even though I hold a Federal Firearms License, I wouldn't begin to say I knew all the intricacies of 922R, etc.

Sad thing is, what is a person supposed to say when a person moseys up to the firing line, and takes an obviously illegal gun out of the case and plops it on the bench? If you tell him, maybe it'll save him some grief later. If you don't, he won't get in your face about minding your own business. (Hence my post about seeing a LOT of Norinco SKS rifles with folding stocks, not really a hypothetical example) :(

WonderNine

May 11, 2003, 09:06 PM

Wow, when I bought my SKS it had a 30 round detachable mag on it!

What type of detachable mag is it? Do you know brand or origin? I always hear the detachable magazines for the SKS don't feed worth a $%(*

Is it an AK or SKS magazine?

DMK

May 11, 2003, 10:16 PM

The gun was of course manufactered before 94', but I've heard that according to the ATF, if it's an SKS, and you do that, you're an evil criminal mastermind crazy gun nut that should be locked up anywaysThat's because the BATFE doesn't care when it was made. When it was imported is the defining factor.

Hkmp5sd is absolutely correct about the '89 regs. These are much more stringent than the '94 AWB that applies to U.S. made weapons.

WonderNine

May 12, 2003, 12:40 PM

So then even when the AWB sunsets, you still won't legally be able to "accessorize" an SKS? :uhoh:

DMK

May 12, 2003, 02:22 PM

So then even when the AWB sunsets, you still won't legally be able to "accessorize" an SKS? That is partially correct. I say partially, because you can carefully and thoughtfully accessorize an SKS, you just have to be very careful as to what accessories you choose and what combinations you have.

Unfortunately there aren't enough U.S. made parts available for the SKS that would allow you to get around the '89 bad on a "less than 10 imported parts" technicality like you can with the AK or FAL type rifles.

More info here:

http://www.simonov.net/uberlaw.htm

Folks add all kinds of stuff to SKS rifles that you see on Gunbroker, gun shops and gunshows, however a lot are technically illegal. It's just a matter of the ATF not wanting to take the time to worry about it. It kind of like speeding. Everybody does it and sometimes the Highway Patrol doesn't even bother you, but that doesn't make it legal. Just keep in mind that an illegal "Assault Weapon" carries a much, much stiffer penalty than 15MPH over.